Los Alamos
Fuller Lodge TowerEvents
Concerts, drama, dance performances, athletic events, and tournaments…Los Alamos has a wealth of events and activities for all ages and interests. Check them out online at the comprehensive events calendar.
Los Alamos MainStreet presents The Next Big Idea, a Festival of Discovery, Invention, and Innovation on the third Saturday in July. Inventive food and drink, innovative arts and music, hands-on youth and family activities, and a showcase of science and invention are all part of the action.
Kites fill the Los Alamos horizon every third week in May at the Los Alamos Kite Festival. Flying demonstrations, kite building lessons, and live music highlight this three day event.
History
In 1918, Ashley Pond, a wealthy Detroit businessman, decided that to raise a fine young man into adulthood, they need be exposed to hard work and outdoor activities. Thus, he opened the Los Alamos Ranch School, a collection of log buildings for students and staff. In 1942, in the midst of World War II, the U.S. Government was looking for the perfect spot to put its top-secret weapons development program, the Manhattan Project. This spot had to be remote, miles from any coast or boarder, and the Ranch school fit the bill. So, in 1943, thousands of workers arrived to develop the world’s first atomic weapon. They lived behind secure fences and were unable to tell even the closet family members where they were. Their labors were realized with the test explosion of the first nuclear bomb at the Trinity Test Site near Alamogordo, New Mexico, in 1945. That device had been assembled at the old Ice House, and the spot is remembered with a small memorial. Less than a month later, two more bombs were used in Japan to help bring an end to the War in the Pacific.
The Ice House MemorialLos Alamos made the post-war transformation to a peacetime scientific community. Many of the barracks and buildings of that era were taken town to pave the way for housing. In 1947, the Atomic Energy Agency assumed operations of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories. During the Cold War, Los Alamos remained at the forefront of weapons technology. But, it was also diversifying into all branches of scientific research, leading the way in computer development, environmental efforts, and medical breakthroughs. In 1981, LASL become Los Alamos National Labs, and is today home to 36 square miles of research and testing facilities.
Culture
Fuller LodgeThe cities Atomic roots can be retraced by taking the short Los Alamos Historical Walking Tour. The first stop is the Los Alamos Historical Museum, formerly the Ranch School guest house until the arrival of Manhattan Project personnel in 1943. Now, it is a museum housing artifacts and displays from Los Alamos’ history. Next door is the stunning Fuller Lodge. Built in 1928 from designs by John Gaw Meem, this log building now houses an arts center and achieves. From there, you can walk up the block known as “Bathtub Row”, where the Ranch School buildings were turned into housing for the leaders of the Project, including Robert J. Oppenheimer. His house remains much as it was then, but it, like all of the houses on the row, is now privately owned.
The colorful Bradbury Science Museum is the perfect stop for the curious both young and old. Not only does it have a complete history of the Manhattan Project (including recreations of the “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” bombs), but it also covers the vast array of other research and breakthroughs made by those working at the labs.
Bradbury Science MuseumFor more information on visiting Los Alamos, check out the chamber of commerce web site.
Contact:
Jeremy Varela, MainStreet Manager
Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corp.
109 Central Park Square
Los Alamos, NM 87544
Phone: 505.661.4844
